Tag: christian

Creeds that Guide & Protect You

At Broken Believers we hold a simple faith in matters of spirituality and encourage other to do the same.  I could delineate and develop an intense SoF, but I have neither the time or inclination to see this through.  I believe that most of us are pretty fluid on these faith issues, but there is also a definite cohesiveness in the lives of  believers who are  filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Here are the two creeds that Broken Believers uses to guide and direct this ministry.

 

 

Apostles’ Creed

1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

 2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:

3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:

4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:

5. The third day he rose again from the dead:

6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:

7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:

8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:

9. I believe in the holy Christian church: the communion of saints:

10. The forgiveness of sins:

11. The resurrection of the body:

12. And the life everlasting. Amen.

NOTE: The reference to Jesus as having “descended into hell” appears to be based on the Bible passage found in 1 Peter 3:18-20. In the introductory pages of “The Self-Study Bible NIV,” an explanation of the Apostles’ Creed says that Jesus descended into hell “not to suffer or to offer deceased souls a second chance, but to proclaim his lordship.” The Apostles’ Creed is not contained in the Bible. It is the work of early Christians who wanted to create a summary, based on various Bible passages, to explain to others what it means to be a Christian.

 

Nicene Creed

 The Nicene Creed was written hundreds of years ago by Christians, as a summary of what it means to be a Christian. It is often recited in Christian churches today. The Nicene Creed is not found in the Bible but is intended to be a summary of Christian beliefs. Below is a translation of the Nicene Creed as it appears in a Lutheran hymnal.

“We believe in one God, the Father, Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is,
seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and became fully human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who in unity with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come.  Amen”

About these creeds: http://www.creeds.net/ancient/apostles.htm and http://www.about-jesus.org/apostles-creed.htm

Another very good site: http://www.gotquestions.org/nicene-creed.html

The Story Behind the Story, of “In His Steps”

by Chuck Neighbors

A book that may have changed more lives than any other outside of the Bible has a fascinating history. In His Steps is a novel written by Charles M. Sheldon in 1896. As it celebrates the one hundredth anniversary of its publication, experts have ranked it as the tenth-most-read book in the world.

In simple style, In His Steps tells the story of self-satisfied congregants of a midwestern church who are challenged by a tramp during a Sunday service to live up to their declaration of faith. The tramp then dies in their midst. So moved are the minister and his parishioners that they pledge to live their lives for one year asking themselves, “What would Jesus do?” Their example how they suffered, faced ridicule and emerged victorious inspires other churches throughout the country to do the same.

Reading In His Steps wrought such a profound change in my own life that I, being an actor, was inspired to adapt the book to the stage. I was also driven to delve into the background of this classic. Fortunately, I found a recent biography of Charles Sheldon called Following ln His Steps, written by Timothy Miller (University of Tennessee Press). Much of the information in this article is taken from Millerts fascinating book. I was deeply moved by the life of Charles Sheldon and his remarkable influence.

Continue reading “The Story Behind the Story, of “In His Steps””

Recommended Study Book: Ryken’s Bible Handbook

Ryken’s Bible Handbook

Amazon’s Price: $13.58
This book gives students of the Bible a quick overview of every book in the Bible. Leland Ryken’s distinctive trait is a literary approach to the Bible–understanding the Bible as literature. The three authors help shed light on understanding the Bible as the inspired Word of God and as literature by looking at the Bible’s different literary genres: poetry, narrative, wisdom literature, story, parables, and more.  This is a top-notch Bible Handbook and it is worth its weight in gold.  For a great Bible introduction, a class or Bible study it is the best.

Practical Steps to Kill Sin

Keeping in line with yesterday’s post, I decided to haul out some practical teaching on “holiness”.  I for one need to understand how a person changes into the image of Jesus Christ.  The following transcript was taken from an audio teaching by John Piper, a man I trust throughly.  I hope this blesses. –B. 

Practical Steps to Kill Sin

By John Piper, originally on November 9, 1987

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Relief: All true believers have sin remaining in them in this life. Romans 7:23 – “I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members.”

Therefore we are commanded to constantly kill this sin (Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:5).

How Is This to Be Done?

1) Take heart from the truth that the old sinful you is decisively already dead (Romans 6:6; Colossians 3:3; Galatians 5:24). This means three things:

1.the mortal blow to our “old man” has been struck;

2.he will not succeed in domination now;

3.his final obliteration is certain.

2) Consciously reckon the old man dead; that is, believe the truth of Scripture about the old man’s death, and seek to live in that freedom (Romans 6:11).

3) Cultivate enmity with sin! You don’t kill friends (Romans 8:13). Ponder how it killed your best friend, dishonors your Father, and aims to destroy you for ever.

4) Rebel against sin’s coup. Refuse to be bullied by his deceits and manipulations (Romans 6:12). Fight your sinful impulses with all your might like a boxer fights an opponent and like a marathon runner fights fatigue (1 Corinthians 9:27; 2 Timothy 4:8).

5) Declare radical allegiance to the other side—God—and consciously put all your mind and heart and body at his disposal for righteousness and purity (Romans 6:13).

6) Don’t make any plans that open the door for sin’s entry (Romans 13:14). Don’t prove your purity in a pornography shop.

7) Develop mental habits that continually renew the mind in God-centeredness (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 4:16). Fix attention daily on “the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5), “things that are above” (Colossians 3:2), “whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, praiseworthy” (Philippians 4:8).

8) Admit failure and confess all known sin every day (1 John 1:9). Ask for forgiveness (Matthew 6:12).

9) Ask for the Spirit’s help and power in all these things (Romans 8:13; Galatians 5:17, 22; Ezekiel 36:27; Isaiah 26:12).

10) Be part of a larger and smaller fellowship where you are exhorted often to beware of the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13).

11) Beware of “works of law”; but let all your warfare be “the work of faith” (2 Thessalonians 1:11). That is, let your fight against sin spring from your confidence in the superior pleasures of closeness to Christ.

Pastor John Piper

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